A Chara-cter Study
by bobtheduck2016
Summary: A slightly AU version of Chara's story. I'm only saying it's AU because I realized after writing 3 chapters that it would not have been possible for the story to take place in the '20s, because of the Dreemurs owning, at the very least, a personal movie camera (8 or 16mm) and maybe even a proper camcorder, placing it in that instance AT LEAST the late '70s or early '80s.
1. Parts 1 2: A barrier between them

**Chara-cter Study Chapter 1 - A Life Too Cruel for Puns**

Crack! Her head struck the wall, leaving a dent and splashing blood. She slumped to the ground, still conscious but unwilling to fight back. Unable to fight back

"You make my life so miserable, you little brat," said a tired voice. A man in a torn charcoal suit with mussed hair and a crooked tie slumped to the ground opposite his daughter. "If you had never come around, I would be rich and popular now. kinda hard to live the life you want when you have a seventy pound parasite stuck to you. You already drained all the life out of your mother, and now you want to do it to me"

The girl didn't say anything. She tried to stand, but stumbled back into the wall before finally getting to her feet. She swayed as she walked toward the door.

"Chara! Don't even think about walking out of here!"

She did not listen to her father. Chara walked into the street, where she was met by faces looking through their windows. The faces were quickly replaced with curtains, but she was used to this by now. Chara walked to the end of the street, past a number of weedy yards and a single Ford 5-Touring. That was her one rich neighbor, rich enough to have their own car. She knocked the front door of the house on the corner.

A young boy, about Chara's age, cracked the door. "Hi Chara," he said, his eyes on the ground and his voice weak.

"Hi Cecil. Can I come in?"

The already narrow opening closed a little more.

"Chara… I'm sorry. I can't play right now."

The boy was wrenched away from the door. His father opened up the door further, but blocked it with his considerable frame. "Chara! Get the hell out of here, you little demon. Cecil was in the hospital for a week after you played out in the woods the last time. I don't want you near here. What are you even doing outside? I think your daddy should know about this."

He stomped back up the street until he got to Chara's house. Chara was frozen to the ground. Cecil's father came back out, pushing Chara's father by the neck. He could just be heard in the distance saying, "Take care of your family, or I do it for you!" and threw Chara's father to the ground.

Chara ran out to the main road. A woman who was sitting on her front porch called out "You running away again? Maybe this time it'll stick." The woman laughed. Chara stopped to look at her for a few seconds, then turned toward the woods. "Maybe you'll get eaten by a bear this time. You little monster! You belong out there rather than in here. Your drunk daddy, too."

Chara started to walk toward the woods. Just as she stepped under the first tree, she was pulled back by two long, bony arms. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Where the hell do you think you're going, you little shit? Neither one of us are that lucky."

Chara did not struggle as she was pulled back to her house. She whispered to herself, "I hate all of you. Every last one."

 **Chara-cter Study Chapter 2: a Barrier Between Her and the Others**

Chara woke to vomiting in the next room. She could see light peeking through the curtains, so she decided it was a good enough time to wake. She went into the kitchen, trying her best to ignore the sounds in the other room. She took a roll and some butter from the shelf, tore the roll and spread some butter on it. This was a common meal.

She grabbed her rucksack and walked outside, heading for the school house. Chara was determined not to be like the other people in her village. She would break out of that place one way or another. Running away to the woods may not have been the best way of accomplishing this, but maybe becoming something better that the others would work.

She sat down at the back of the class, but strangely, a girl sat next to her that she had never talked to. It was not a particularly large class, with only fifteen students in the whole school, but the girl was the daughter of the only rich family in the village, so they did not talk often.

"Well, hello there, Chara!"

Chara did not respond at first.

"My dear, there is no need to be rude. When someone offers a greeting to you, you should respond, especially if that person is your better. In your case, that would be nearly everyone."

"What do you want, Helen?" Chara said, scowling. This was not going to be a friendly visit.

"We cannot stay at this school after this year, you know? I haven't the faintest idea why you would bother staying here. It will do you no good. I am going to attend a prestigious private school. All girls. No more slobbering piggies wanting to benefit from my generosity."

"I can just study at the library."

"You and I both know the library here is hardly worth even a look. There are maybe fifty books, and we have not received a new book since it opened at the turn of the century. Face it, my dear, even being here today is a waste of time. I suppose the sheriff will just throw you in jail if you don't come, though."

Chara did not speak. Her eye twitched as she stared at Helen.

"Your drunk daddy does not have enough money to send you away to where you belong. It is a shame you weren't a boy. You could be shipped off to military school and none of us would need to see your little ugly face again."

Chara moved to a different seat. The teacher called out "Miss Smith! Get back to your seat."

"For crying out loud, Ma'am, my name isn't Smith. There are only 15 people here! You would think…"

Smack! The teacher hit Chara across the face. "You will show respect to your teacher!"

Chara smiled broadly and looked straight into the teacher's eyes.

"Wipe that disgusting grin off your face."

Chara's smile faded a little, but she still smirked. The teacher slapped her again, and walked away.

Chara's smile returned, and she looked at Helen, who stood and walked back to her own seat. Chara also returned to her seat, as the other students filed into the class. She stared at Helen, who shivered.

The rest of the day was uneventful

Chara dragged her rucksack behind her as she walked to her house. She did not pause as she walked in. She was used to what was likely waiting for her. This, however, was different. She found her father entangled with another woman on the ground. The room reeked of alcohol, which at least was familiar. Suddently, the door burst open with a kick, and three police, two that she had never seen, rushed in to grab her father.

"What are you doing?!" she screamed.

The sheriff said "Everyone knows your daddy is a drunk. I don't know if you realized this, darlin, but that there's against the law. Alcohol is destroying our way of life. Your daddy has to go to jail."

She hated him, but she had no one else to take care of her. She had no where else to go. If her father went to jail, it would be an orphanage for her. She looked at the police as they dragged her father away. She wanted to escape, but now it looked like the situation would be far worse.

She screamed again. Her father struggled a little against the police, and they stumbled in dragging him out. She screamed again… But nobody came.

No. Not today. They were not taking him today. She grabbed a knife off the table and ran at the policemen. Ththick. She struck the first man in his shoulder.

One of the other policemen looked around and said, dully, "What on Earth?"

Ththick. The knife was plunged into his stomach. The third strike was for the sheriff. They collapsed to the ground. Her father woke and looked around him at the carnage.

"You! You did this? Oh my lord! You're a monster!"

"I did this to save you, daddy!" she shouted.

Bam! Her father's fist collided with her cheek. She cried out in pain.

"Don't you understand? I'd have been in jail for a couple weeks for the booze. Now I'm going to go to prison for the rest of my life for murder! But, no, it's you!. You're covered with blood. They'll see it was you. I guess I will finally be rid of you."

Chara stared, her mouth open. He really was a worthless pile of garbage. He would throw his daughter to the wolves after she defended him. She smiled broadly and turned her face toward the ceiling, still keeping her eyes trained on her father.

"And that horrifying face you always make. No one will have any trouble believing the truth, that it was…"

He stopped talking, because Chara retrieved her father's moonshine from underneath a floorboard.

"I guess I may as well let you drink. You're going to prison anyhow."

"Daddy. This isn't for me. This is for you. I just want to give you something you'll love." She picked up a chair and pushed him into wall, where he hit his head and grunted. He slumped to the ground, unable to bring himself to his feet. She opened his mouth and poured the moonshine down his throat. He sputtered and coughed, but when the bottle was empty, he was unconscious.

Chara looked at her school clothes. They were covered in blood and booze. She ran to her closet. Everything was in the wash except a thick, striped winter sweater and an old pair of pants. She changed into the other clothes, and tiptoed into the kitchen. She picked up the knife she had used to kill the police. She knew she'd need protection, but it would probably best if they believed her father had killed them. She placed the knife in his hands, and took another knife which she put in her back pocket, in its sheath.

She ran out toward the woods again. This time her father would not be there to stop her. She ran as fast as she could, but she was stopped by a woman calling out to her.

"Chara! Where are you off to, in such a hurry?

"I'm just gonna go play, ma'am"

"Come here for a minute," she said. Chara walked up the path to the front porch, past a garden of golden flowers.

Chara didn't know why, but she could not leave yet. Maybe this village would have one person who was not completely evil.

"Where are you going, child?" she said.

"I… I'm going to play. Like I said."

The woman looked her over carefully.

"Don't go too far. Haven't you heard the stories? There's monsters out there. At least there were a long time ago. You wouldn't want one to take your soul."

Chara backed off, her eyebrows raised. "Monsters?"

"Yeah. A long time ago, before any of us were born, there were monsters everywhere. But we defeated them all and drove them underground. They don't bleed. They don't eat regular food. They can, however, steal your soul and become something really scary."

Chara turned around at this and started to walk down the path again. "I'll be sure not to run into any monsters."

Chara walked this time. This lady had not seemed to be that bad, if a bit annoying. But that's just one person. One person out of the whole village. It was too late. She was determined to escape this place. One kind person could not change that.

She ran to the woods, to the base of the mountain. The village was full of stories like that woman had told, and one of the stories was that people were not supposed to go near the mountain. That, of course, seemed the only proper option for her, then.

She climbed up into a cave, her heart beating fast again after having calmed at that woman's words. The cave seemed to go down forever. She stepped forward to get a better look at what seemed to be a light coming from very far away, but her foot got snagged on some vines and she fell.

Down

Down

Down

Wham!


	2. Chapter 3: A Hole New World

**A Chara-cter study.**

 **Chapter 3: A hole new world.**

Chara's head throbbed. She was unable to breathe or turn herself over. How had she survived that fall? She almost blacked out a second time, when she finally let out a weak cry.

"Hello? Is someone there? Oh, my! You look hurt!"

A hairy hand held hers, and helped her to her feet.

"Come here. My mom and dad can help you."

Chara limped and stumbled as she walked down the path toward a large house. Was this a dream? It was impossible to comprehend everything she was seeing, not the least of which being the person who had been guiding her.

"Aah!" Chara let out a short scream when she saw what looked like a goat standing on its hind legs and wearing clothes.

The goat boy jumped, and stepped backward. He started to breathe hard, but when none of them did or said anything for a few seconds, he was the first to speak.

"Howdy! My name's Asriel? You… you don't look like any monster I know. What are you?"

Asriel looked back at the spot where Chara had fallen, then up toward the opening.

"Oh my! Are you a human? But… You're a kid, right?

"What… where am I?"

"This is the underground. A long time ago, the humans and monsters had a war. We were all stuck down you since then."

"Monsters! Are you going to steal my soul?"

Asriel shook his head violently. "No, I'm not going to take anyone's soul! Why would you say something like that?"

It figures that even that woman would be wrong, trying to make her life miserable like all the rest of them. Chara's face twisted back into a smile. Asriel turned his head to the side, but never took his eyes off Chara.

"Listen… I know Monsters and Humans didn't get along, but that was a long time ago. No one here is going to do anything to you."

The twisted smile on Chara's face faded. Could this place be what she had wanted for such a long time? It did not take long for her outlook to change, however. Cecil showed promise, too, but once his parents were involved, no hope remained for that friendship, and if humans really drove the monsters underground, Chara doubted they would be kind to her – the adults, anyhow.

"My… My name is Chara," she said. She resigned herself to her fate. Whatever was going to happen would happen. At the very least, her problems would end shortly, regardless of the manner in which they ended.

"Chara? That sounds like a good name. Do you have a last name?"

"It's… It doesn't matter. My family… They're dead."

"Oh." Asriel's face drooped. He stared at the ground. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it must be like to live without my parents."

"What does it matter, anyhow? Do we really need parents?" Chara said, color returning to her cheeks after the fright of seeing Asriel for the first time.

"My parents are great! Everyone here loves them! I mean, it's because my dad is… Well, you'll see."

"You're taking me straight to your parents?" Chara said, stopping.

"It's fine, Chara. My parents won't hurt you. I think they will be happy to see someone new."

As they walked through the caves, the memory of what she had done flitted briefly back into Chara's mind. Maybe she had just gone mad. Everything seemed real, except for something that looked like a star. Chara reached out to it.

"What… What are you doing?" Asriel said. Chara felt something she had never felt before. Some of her nervousness disappeared. This was something new. She was going to see it through. "What did you see, Chara?"

"It's like a star," Chara said.

"What are you talking about? We can't see stars here. I have heard about them, though. I wish I could see real stars."

They walked past a tree with leaves all around its base. "It's not autumn. Why are all the leaves already off this tree?"

"We're here."

"Here…"

Chara stopped. Asriel turned around and smiled. "Don't worry, Chara. You're going to love it here." He held Chara's hand. Chara pulled her hand back, but Asriel's smile was kinder than anything she had ever seen.

A deep voice called out, "Asriel? It is almost time for dinner.

The sudden confidence that the star had given Chara disappeared just as quickly. An enormous, furry, horned man stepped through the door and stopped to stare.

The next few moments of silence felt like an eternity.


	3. Chapter 4: A Mom-ent to think about what

**A Chara-cter study**

 **Chapter 4: A mom-ent to think about what you dad.**

""The great horned, furry man that stood in front of the doorway. He stared, his mouth open. "After all this time…" he said, in his deep voice.

"Honey, what is taking so long? You are not letting Asriel talk you into…" came a much softer voice. "Is that…"

"A human," the first one said.

Asriel looked quickly between Chara and his father. "Um… Dad, this is… Chara."

"Son… That's a human. How did it even get here?"

"She fell through the hole at the end of the path here."

"Gorey, that seems to be a child."

"Hmm… A child? Are you a child, human? Or are you just a short human? I really don't remember what human children look like."

"Look at her outfit, dad. She's clearly a child."

"Asgore, do you think?" the woman said.

Both of the older goat people walked toward Chara. Well, this was it. This would decide her future. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She felt a large, gentle hand on her shoulder, and opened her eyes. The woman was kneeling down right next to her, looking in her eyes, smiling.

"Howdy! My name is Asgore Dreemur. This is my wife Toriel. I am sorry to say, we are trapped here in this place, but… You can live with us, if you'd like."

"What?" Chara said, her eyes flitting quickly among each of the family members. "So… I can never go home?" she said. She had pushed the most recent above ground events out of her mind entirely.

Toriel grabbed her and hugged her. "I am so sorry, child. It is not merely monsters that are trapped in underground. You will be unable to leave, as well. This was the curse we were inflicted with many years ago by the humans. We have made decent lives for ourselves here, though, and you are far too young to have been involved in all of that, so we harbor no ill-will toward you."

"We have grown rather accustomed to living here, child. We can be a good family for you, if you would have us."

"Wait, Gorey! I have an idea!"

Toriel ran into the house. A few seconds later, she came out with both arms full of flowers of different colors.

"Here, child. Have these. Think of this as your welcoming party."

Toriel dropped the flowers into Chara's arms, and Chara dropped most of them on the ground. Asriel laughed as he picked them up and handed some of them back to Chara. She hid her face behind them, and Toriel and Asgore gathered everyone together. Tears streamed down her face.

This could not be real.

"Do you have a family name, young one?" Asgore said.

"It's… It's not important," she said. Her family, of course, was one of those things she did not want to remember.

"Perhaps this is abrupt, but… You could take our name, if you would like!" Toriel said.

"That's a wonderful idea. Then we could be like brother and sister! It can get a little lonely here. I mean, there are a lot of monsters around, but no one my age."

"Chara, was it?" Chara Dreemur," Asgore said.

Chara sobbed. She did not know why she was crying that way. She could not think straight, but she knew she felt happier at that moment than she had for a long time. Toriel hugged her again, and Chara breathed deeply.

"I do not know what humans eat, but I prepared dinner for my family. I suppose that means you, now, if you would like," Toriel said.

"Oh that sounds wonderful," Chara said, tears still streaming down her face. She stopped crying suddenly, and said "What do monsters eat?"

"One thing I know about Human food is it has to be absorbed slowly, and most of it comes out the other side. Monster food is much more efficient," Asgore said.

"Are you saying Monsters don't poop?" Chara said.

"Now that is an amusing word. Poop. What does it mean."

"That is when the food… comes out the other side," Chara said. She could not believe she was having this conversation, though the fact that she was having it with three goat people was likely the more interesting fact.

"I was unaware it even had a name," Asgore said.

"I've never seen poop before. Can I see it?"

Chara backed away from Asriel. "No. It's not polite."

Asriel flinched. "I"m sorry. I didn't know."

Chara looked each of them in the eyes. "It… it doesn't matter. you didn't know."

"In any case, I prepared a snail pie. Do humans eat snails?"

Chara cringed. "Some humans do. I don't."

"Are you a picky eater, Chara?" Asriel asked.

"I don't think it's being picky. I just don't know anyone that would eat snails. Except, maybe, Helen. RIch people eat that kind of thing. Fancy Frenchmen and the like."

"Then humans can eat it, then? I'm glad. I don't have any other food at the moment, but maybe later we could get something you'd like. Would you at least try the snail pie?"

"I… I'll try. I don't think I'll like it. It has been a while since I had a nice dessert pie, like butterscotch."

"Oh, I love butterscotch!" Asriel said. "Can we have a butterscotch pie?

Toriel frowned. "Asriel, honey, we cannot make a pie like that right now. I do not have the ingredients I need. I will try to find some food more to your liking later," she said to Chara, "but for now at least try the snail pie," Toriel said.

Asgore, Asriel, and Chara sat at a large table, while Toriel retreated into another room. She returned with the pie in one hand and a stack of plates in another. Serving tools were already on the table. Toriel cut slices for each person, and they sat to eat.

Chara poked at her slice, scared to eat.

"What is the human world like, Chara?" Asriel asked.

Chara froze. Toriel looked at Chara, and then at Asriel.

"How did you find Chara, honey?" Toriel asked.

"Huh? I heard her cry out when I was playing out there."

"You play by yourself?" Chara said.

"Yeah. I don't have many friends anymore. The kids used to play with me, but as they got a little older, they realized who… I think the kids are scared of playing with me because… Well, because of my…"

"Do not worry, Asriel. It is because we are the king and queen," Asgore said.

Chara dropped her fork and stared into the table.

"That will change with time. For now, you have a new sister to play with. If you get more friendly with Chara, the other children should become more comfortable with you."

"Chara! What is your favorite food? Do you prefer Butterscotch, or perhaps cinnamon?"

"You're king and queen?" Chara said. "As in the king and queen of monsters?"

"Chara. Please do not be afraid. The fact we are king and queen should make your life a little easier. The other monsters will be able to accept you when they see you in our family," Asgore said.

Chara's hesitation faded. She wanted to start her new life properly. She was determined to leave her former life behind. She cut off a bit of the snail pie and ate it. "This… this isn't that bad." Chara said, unenthusiastically.

"You could say… it's a mom-ument to my talents as a cook," Toriel said.

Chara looked at Toriel and said "What…"


End file.
